– Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion.

– A cat’s brain is more similar to a man’s brain than that of a dog.

– Cats do not have a collarbone, so they can fit through any opening the size of their head.

– Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human’s 6 muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog. Cats’ hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.

– In relation to their body size, cats have the largest eyes of any mammal. Most cats do not have eyelashes. They see about 6 times better than a human at night, and need 1/6 the amount of light that a human does due to a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light. Recent studies have shown that cats can see blue and green, but there is disagreement as to whether they can see red. A cat’s field of vision is about 185 degrees.

– Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine, about 26 cycles per second. Domestic cats purr both when inhaling and when exhaling.

– A domestic cat can sprint at about 31 miles per hour.

– The heaviest cat on record weighed 46 lbs. A kitten will typically weigh about 3 ounces at birth. The typical male housecat will weigh between 7 and 9 pounds, slightly less for female housecats.

– Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F. A cat’s normal pulse is 140-240 beats per minute, with an average of 195.

– Cats lose almost as much fluid in the saliva while grooming themselves as they do through urination.

– Almost 10 percent of a cat’s bones are in its tail, and the tail is used to maintain balance. The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. You can also learn about your cat’s present state of mind by observing the posture of his tail.

– If a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly evenly all over the body; when the cat threatens or is ready to attack, the hair stands up only in a narrow band along the spine and tail.